The Ties That Bind

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Marina gave her a grin, unbothered by the thought of sharing, or strangers, just happy to help out. "No problem! I'll get 'em back from you once you've got your own stuff, but hang on to 'em for now."

Maxim couldn't help but think that she had come a long way from the closed off, violence-prone individual he had first met so many years ago. A little support could go a long way, and he was proud of her for being willing to help a stranger suddenly imposing on their lives. Though he had purposely made Madeline's story as sympathetic as was truthful to coax that reaction along, he would never lie to his pack.

"Thank you, Marina." Maxim said when Madeline had deemed the clothes acceptable, stepping back out of the way so as not to block the door. "Let me know when Bella emerges from her cave."

"You got it, boss!"

He rolled his eyes at the over exaggerated salute sent his way, just shaking his head at her with a fond smile on his face. "Right. Madeline, let me show you where you'll be staying. I'm sure Simon has the bed made up already."
 
She smiled back and nodded, "Alright, thanks." She took the clothes and stepped out of the room once Maxim moved out of the way, smiling in amusement at his banter with Marina.

She would take great care with Marina's stuff, but she hoped she could get her own things back soon. Hopefully tomorrow along with whatever else Maxim had her doing, they could swing by and pick up her hidden stash.

"OK, lead on." She was looking forward to finishing her conversation with Maxim, then getting some sleep. It had been a long day, and despite almost everyone being welcoming, it had all been a bit overwhelming.
 
Maxim nodded in response to her agreement, not pointing out the smile he had clearly seen on her face as they made their way back down the stairs. Being amused at how the pack interacted with each other would likely go a long way towards making her feel more comfortable around them, which could be important for her safety later on.

"We clean in here a couple times a month," he said as he opened the unlocked door to the spare apartment downstairs. "And no one comes in here much so it shouldn't be overly dusty." Inside, there were a few boxes and large plastic storage containers stacked neatly against the wall in what would likely have been the living room, as well as a couch no one used anymore, and a couple of small end tables and large children's toys that had been replaced or outgrown but never gotten rid of. Nothing much of importance was kept there, as most didn't own more than their individual apartments could hold, but it was a convenient space for keeping things they didn't often need access to, unless or until their pack grew larger.

The bedroom was hardly that, with a bed and an empty dresser inside but nothing else. The previous occupants' things had been gotten rid of long ago, with only large furniture remaining, as if that too was only something extra which needed somewhere to be stored.

"The bathroom isn't fully stocked," Maxim said as he opened the door to it just to show her where it is, "but I'll grab you a few things, and if you need anything else you can walk across to my apartment and use that one instead. If there's anything else you can think of that you might need tonight, just let me know."
 
As she stepped into the empty apartment, she glanced around curiously. It had an air of abdonment about it, but it was clean and tidy.

Considering she would've considered the car a viable sleeping option, she was happy with the upgrade. Having a door to block off helped make her feel more comfortable, even if it didn't lock.

"Not that I can think of." She said thoughtfully, the look she'd gotten at the bathroom showed there was a towel and soap at least so she should be fine. "I guess just a water bottle or something?"

She put the borrowed clothes on the bed, then turned back to face him. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked this casually enough, but there was clearly something on her mind. "How long do you think I'll be staying here?"
 
Water was an easy ask, at least. Maxim supposed it wasn't as if the electricity or water was cut off to the apartment so there wasn't much that she wouldn't be able to go without for a night. With all that was going on, he couldn't blame her for not thinking of anything else.

"I'll bring you one before you sleep," he promised, and for a moment considered leaving in case she wanted to change. When she turned to ask him a question instead, he took a slow breath, running a hand back through his hair as he considered how to answer. "That all depends on how extensive Farkas' network truly is, and how difficult it will be to break it apart, or to cut the head off the snake. . . Truthfully, it could be months. Maybe longer."

It most definitely would not be a matter solved in days, or likely even weeks. Unless she decided to cut her losses and run, she was going to be stuck with them for a while.
 
She looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered his answer, then nodded a little. She let nothing show but it was not what she'd been hoping to hear, but it was what she'd been expecting to hear.

Farkas's influence was vast and powerful, hence why she was so convinced of her death by his hand. Still she had some hope of Maxims success, but she knew it would take quite a while if it was even possible.

She would stay and help for now, but she reserved the right to run if things got too bad or dangerous. "In that case, tomorrow can I go get some of my stuff?"

"Where I stashed it is pretty safe, but I usually check on it every few days." It was her irreplaceable stuff, and a few other things to help her run.

It was basically an emergency bag, something she could grab and go if things got worse with Farkas, not that it was exactly good as it was.
 
Clearly, the situation was not ideal. She didn't want to be stuck, removed from whatever life she'd had before, and both of them knew that no matter what kindness she received she was disrupting theirs as well. Maxim took that as his own responsibility, and he knew they would adjust in time.

"If it isn't somewhere too dangerous," he agreed with a slight shrug, "it should be fine to drop by. Anything else you need, I'm sure we can get for you somewhere."

There was very little furniture in the room, and rather than sit on what would now essentially be her bed and place them likely too close together for her comfort, he took a seat on the floor and pulled out his notebook once more, completely comfortable despite the inferior position. "In the meantime, let's go over a few more things."
 
She seemed relieved by his answer, it should still be there, she hidden it well but it wasn't exactly under lock and key. "Great, it should be fine, I've never been followed there." As far as she was aware anyway, but she didn't say that, she doubted she needed too.

When he sat on the floor, she looked surprised and a bit puzzled for a moment. "Uh, alright." She sat on the edge on the bed, facing him. "Do you want to sit on the couch or something?"
 
Maxim glanced up at her from where he'd settled himself, sitting cross-legged on the ground with a straight back and a complete lack of self-consciousness, and only shrugged. "I'm perfectly comfortable here, Miss Jones, don't worry." Whether he was on four legs or two, he could make himself at home practically anywhere. In a part of what was his own home, especially.

"Now, something simple," he began, rather than address the fact that he didn't want to go and sit in the living room on a couch that, unlike the washed bedding, still at times held old scents he would rather not think of. "Have you ever met Farkas in person? If not him, do you have any idea who you've met that may be further up the command chain?" It was possible she had met no one, but that was neither here nor there. Whatever information she had to give, he would take it.
 
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She still seemed to find it a bit odd, but she shrugged a little, "suit yourself." She folded her arms and leaned back a little, getting comfortable before the questions got started.

She nodded to his question, though she thought she'd told him that already, she guessed she wasn't clear enough. Or he was just using it as an ice breaker, before he got into the more complicated stuff.

"Yes I've met him in person multiple times, spent time with him, his second in command, his enforcers, pretty much everyone he's personally close too."

She didn't mention Alex, though she knew she'd have to eventually. "You know since we're going to be stuck working with each other for a while, you can drop the Miss Jones stuff and just call me Madeline."
 
Maxim nodded along, checking his own notes to be sure her story remained the same and he hadn't forgotten anything himself, only making a couple more notations to remind himself of it later on. "I'll take those names, if you have them." He said, though he was relatively certain he already knew some of them.

When she called him out on how he addressed her he looked almost surprised for a moment, then huffed a small, amused breath and gave an expansive shrug. "Force of habit, but point taken. You are going to be living here, after all." It made sense that they would eventually get more familiar with each other, but he was happy enough to follow her lead in that regard and use her first name only when she felt comfortable with it.

"He's very confident, introducing you to so many people." He began again, tone a bit thoughtful. "When you met them, did you already know he was using you as a mule?" He supposed she could have met them before them, thinking they were just clients of whatever fake delivery service she'd been roped into at the beginning. Farkas had to sure of himself, letting her see so many faces. It could mean good things for them, or bad. Maxim only hoped he would be so confident he messed up in the near future.
 
She listed off the names of everyone in the core pack, the inner circle, mentioning the higher ups but once again neglecting to mention Alex.

She wasn't even sure why, he'd ask eventually and it's not like he was really her friend but still she was reluctant to betray him before she had too, even though he had already betrayed her.

"Shall I keep calling you special agent?" She asked with a playful little smirk, amused he hadn't mentioned her calling him by his name.

Quickly growing serious again, she shrugged a little at his comment. "He has a right to be confident, his power is immense, and he had me well and truly trapped."

"When I first met him and them, no I didn't know they were criminals." She seemed embarrassed and a bit ashamed, "I should have known better, looking back the red flags were obvious but... I..." She shrugged a little, and didn't finish.
 
"Call me whatever you'd like." Maxim offered only a small smile at her jab, shaking his head at the clear amusement in her voice. "I suppose if we want to be fair, you should just use my name." Some called him 'Max', though he preferred his full name most days. He wasn't picky about forms of address as some that held any sort of rank could be. If it was similar enough to be recognizable, he would respond.

As she went on he was careful to make note of anything he hadn't already written down, but when clear emotion colored her voice he let his pen slowly lower, meeting her eyes with sympathy rather than judgement. "It can be easy being reeled in when your focus is on the things that benefit you, Madeline. You aren't the first to be fooled into similar positions, and you won't be the last. Whats important now is how you move forward. . . Ask Marina about it some time."

It was the only hint he would give in regards to his pack's pasts, without their input in the matter. Marina had a stable home, a clean life, and a legally sound job she enjoyed now, but it hadn't always been that way. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. If she didn't, she would say so. In the meantime, he would simply move on to other questions.
 
She was glad he seemed fine with her using his name, it felt a little awkward calling him Agent Orwell all the time, especially with her living with them, it blurred the professional lines a little.

When he met her gaze, she was surprised by the sympathy in his eyes. His words were also surprising, but appreciated. They didn't change how she felt, but they did help a little.

She looked rather curious at his mention of Marina, wondering what her story was. Perhaps she would ask sometime, but she didn't want to pry.

Plus she wasn't quite sure of her plan yet, and she didnt want to let her guard down to much and get too...... comfortable. "I'll... I'll keep that in mind."

She answered the rest of his questions easily enough, they weren't anything deep or personal. Stifling a yawn, she wondered how much longer he'd want to talk.
 
If left to his own devices, Maxim could have prompted her for information for the rest of the night, honing in on any small detail that might come in handy in the future. But Madeline had had a long day, and he could see the exhaustion on her face as the clock ticked by. Eventually, mercifully, he closed his notebook and rocked up to his feet.

"That'll do for now," he said as he tucked it and his pen away inside his jacket, thinking he still needed to clean up and change out of his work clothes too. "I'll bring you that water and a few things for the bathroom and let you get to sleep."

Once he had delivered the things she might need, he wished her a good night and closed the door to the apartment on his way out, affording her some privacy in what was basically to be her new home if everything went well. He needed to speak more with the others before they all drifted off themselves.


In the morning, the apartment building began to fill gradually with noise. Maxim himself was up rather early out of pure habit, and from upstairs young voices could be heard as Oscar got the children ready for school. As rambunctious as they could be, even early in the morning, they did not have any consideration for new guests who were not used to sleeping through noise, and came barreling down the stairs shouting for Simon and Maxim in equal volume. They would move on to Aether, after they had said their good mornings, but as the young wolf would not shout back he generally came second.

"Shh," Oscar urged gently as he herded them out of Maxim's apartment and over to Aether's, urging them with a finger to his lips to lower their voices, "people are still sleeping, so we have to try to be quieter."

Opal was first to lower her voice to a sort of exaggerated stage whisper, nodding quickly to show that she was the most good of the three of them. "Okay, Papa! Come on, Jas, Amy, we gotta wake up Aether!"

The giggling as they hurried away, amused by their own attempts to be sneaky, was not any less loud than the full volume speaking had been.
 
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Once she was finally alone for the night, she let out a soft sigh as she locked the front door of the apartment that was hers for the night, and for the foreseeable future she supposed.

She wanted to block the door, but she didn't want to make it too hard for her to get out quickly in an emergency. Instead she grabbed one of the noisier looking old toys and propped it under the doorknob, that way if someone tried to come in, she'd hear it.

Not that she thought that would happen, they all seemed like good people but understandably she was still wary, mistrust was hard to overcome.

She stripped off her clothes, folding them neatly since she'd be stuck wearing them again tomorrow. Thankfully they were still clean, but she was eager to get more clothes to change into.

After she'd showered and changed into her borrowed sleepwear, she picked up the boot she'd drawn comfort from earlier, during Maxins questions at the office.

From it she pulled out a sheathed black switchblade, in an open leather pouch. Tucking it under her pillow, so she'd have it at a moments notice, she finally laid down. She expected to have trouble falling asleep, but after the long day she'd had, she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.


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The next morning she was already awake as the children raced downstairs, she'd been woken up just before dawn by a particularly bad nightmare.

She laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and smiling a little in amusement at the children's antics, still able to hear them quite clearly despite their vain attempt to quieten down.
 
Eventually, after traipsing loudly around the bottom floor, then up and down the stairs to retrieve someone's forgotten homework, Oscar left with the children to take them to school, bringing Amethyst along for the ride so she could say goodbye to her siblings and get used to the routine before she eventually started going to school herself.

Not long after the front door closed behind them, Maxim went to Madeline's door and knocked a couple of quick notes before cracking it open, assuming if she were changing it would be behind the bedroom door further in. "Time to wake up, Madeline," he called, loud enough to wake her without starting out too demanding, and not pushing the door more than an inch or so open. "If you want breakfast before we leave you'd best get up quickly."

In Aether's apartment once again, he and Simon were making pancakes and bacon while Bella sat with her head on the table, trying her best to stay awake after a late night. Marina was nowhere to be seen, but would likely be back from her morning run soon. If Madline wanted to eat breakfast in relative peace, her window was going to be short.
 
By the time Maxim was knocking at her door, she'd already gotten ready for the day. She'd washed up and pulled her hair into a single long french braid down her back, once she was dressed she pulled on her boots, slipping her knife carefully back into the right one.

"I'm up." She called back softly, as she made her way to the door. Discreetly moving her makeshift alarm system out of the way, and opening the door wider. "Morning."
 
Maxim raised an eyebrow at her quick response, already sipping from a mug of coffee as he waited for her. "Early riser, I take it." He commented, but didn't ask why. He wouldn't be surprised if her situation, compounded by being in a strange new place with people she barely knew had made sleep hard to come by. Until it became a problem for her, that was her business.

"Well, good morning either way," he said with a little wave, guiding her along with him. "Breakfast has been graciously provided already. It should still be hot."

Inside Aether's apartment, the young wolf was just taking the last couple pancakes out of a pan, placing them aside on a serving plate stacked with quite a few of them, and a plate of cooking bacon nearby. The coffee pot, already ran and emptied once that morning, was already filling the room with pleasant scents again.

"Why do mornings exist. . ." Bella was complaining as they walked in, face down on the table still with her arms pillowing her head.

Simon only offered her a smile she couldn't see, setting down a taller cup of coffee next to her and spraying a little whipped cream on top before pushing it closer. "It's not so bad," he urged gently. "Here, I made your coffee for you. You've gotta wake up so you can be ready for your early stream at 9:30."

"Why did I agree to that."

He patted her back consolingly and just let her be, giving a soft but not unsympathetic chuckle as he drew away. "Just think, when it's over you can have a nice nap. Oh, good morning, Madeline. Can I get you anything to drink?"
 
She shrugged a little at his comment, but didn't explain, she didn't really feel like getting into it right now. Besides her nightmare, she figured it was obvious why she might have had trouble sleeping.

She was tired but not too affected by it, she was used to getting up early for work, and she'd always been a bit of an insomniac anyway.

As she entered the apartment after Maxim, she noticed a woman she hadn't met yet snoozing on the table and assumed it must be Bella.

She smiled a little in amusement, before nodding in response to Simon. "Morning, uh yes please." "Juice would be nice, or coffee, whatever you've got is fine."

She nodded to the others as she sat down at the table, trying to be a bit more friendly but still feeling a bit awkward. "Morning everyone."
 
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